History of Black and Indian relations among the Florida Seminoles - Essay Example

History of Black and Indian relations among the Florida Seminoles The Black Seminoles are descendents of free African-Americans and slaves who allied with the Indian Seminoles in Florida. This community was known as Seminole Negroes or Seminole maroon or simply the Seminole Indians in the 19th century but they came to be known as Black Seminoles in the 20th century. The Seminole were one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" that included the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw (Seminoles Conflict). The name Seminole is derived from the mispronounced Spanish word "cimmarones,” which means wild and was referred to the non-whites – the Indians and the Africans. The original Seminoles were given this name because they were Indians and had escaped from slavery in the British controlled northern colonies. When they reached Florida, they were not called Seminoles, as they were actually Creeks, Indians of the Muskogee origin. During the early part of the seventeenth century, Florida was under the control of Spain. Florida was a vast tropical wilderness, covered with jungles and malaria-ridden swamps. The Spanish used this territory only as a buffer between the British colonies and their own settled territories further south. They wanted to maintain Florida as a dangerous frontier and hence offered refuge to the escaped slaves and the renegade Indians from South Carolina and Georgia. The original Seminoles who came to Florida were mostly Lower Creeks, who spoke the Mikasuki language. In the early 18th century they were joined by other Indians including Yuchis, Yamasees and Choctaws (Dru J. Murray). The Seminoles adopted many ways of the whites and even lived in cabins or houses. They wore clothes like the whites and many even became Christians. As early as 1689, Africans fled from British-American colonies to the Spanish controlled Florida in search of freedom. A new influx of these freedom-seeking blacks reached Florida during the American Revolution. During this Revolution, the American slaves agreed to fight for the British in exchange for liberty. They built settlements near the Seminoles as both had a common interest to escape slavery. They built separate villages of thatched-roof houses surrounded by fields of corn and swamp rice, and they maintained friendly relations with the mixed population of refugee Indians (Joseph A Opala). The Seminoles Indians also allied with the British for this fight. This brought the two – the Africans and the Indian Seminoles - into increased contact with each other. Members of both the communities sided with the British during the War of 1812. This helped them to solidify their ties. Gradually the two groups came to view themselves as part of the same organized tribe. Their relations solidified to such an extent that the US Government could not break them apart. Intermarriages and friendships were common. They became such close allies that they came to be known as the Black Seminoles. At this point when the Africans and the Indian Seminoles first came into contact, the Seminoles were themselves recent immigrants to Florida. The Africans adopted their clothing and the Indians acquired taste for rice and appreciation for their music and folklore. At that time, they were known as Gullahs. These Gullahs were more suited to the tropical climate and had immense knowledge about the agriculture. The Indians would not have been able to cope effectively with the Florida environment without their assistance. These Gullahs or Blacks who lived among the Seminoles were useful as interpreters as they spoke English and some other European languages. Soon they also learned the Seminoles Muskogean dialect. The association between the Blacks and the Seminoles was one of affection and mutual respect (Pam Davis). They knew the ways of the whites and could even predict their behaviour in a particular situation. The black Seminoles spent a lot of time in hunting and fishing. They did not aspire to conquer nature but to be a part of the natural world. By the early 19th century, the maroons (the term for slaves and runaway slaves) and the Indian Seminoles were in regular contact and developed a system of unique relations. The Indians found an ally in a sparsely populated region and in turn, the blacks found refuge among the Indians. Since they were comparatively free, the Black Seminoles flourished. According to the 1822 census there were 800 Blacks living with the Seminoles (Wikipedia). US Army Lieutenant George McCall recorded his impressions of a Black Seminole community in 1826: We found these Negroes in possession of large fields of the finest land, producing large crops of corn, beans, melons, pumpkins, and other esculent vegetables. I saw, while riding along the borders of the ponds, fine rice growing; and in the village, large corncribs were filled, while the houses were larger and more comfortable than those of the Indians themselves. While the Blacks found the Seminoles slavery better than the southern slavery, there relationship was one of inequality. Their association with the blacks won the Indian Seminoles prestige and wealth. They were never considered members of the Indian tribe. While intermarriages did take place this was the only exception when they were considered as equals. The Seminoles settlements in Spanish Florida kept increasing as more and more runaway slaves and renegade Indians took refuge here. Small scuffles in 1812 and 1816 finally led to a war in 1818. General Andrew Jackson led an Army into Florida. The Blacks and the Indian Seminoles fought together to stop the American advance but were defeated and driven south to the more remote wilderness of central and southern Florida. They resisted fiercely as they feared returning to slavery. Finally, in 1842 they were removed by the Army along with their Indian comrades to the Indian Territory now known as Oklahoma. The Black Seminoles, exiled from Florida continued their struggle for freedom even at Oklahoma. Here the government put them under the authority of Creek Indians. The Black Seminoles found themselves under threat from the Creek Indians as well as some former Seminoles Indian allies. In 1850, a group of Black Seminoles and Indian Seminoles escaped south across Texas to the desert of Northern Mexico under the Indian chief Coacochee, who led the expedition. They established a free settlement here and this attracted more runaway slaves from across the border. In 1855, heavily armed band of Texas Rangers rode into Mexico to destroy their settlement but were turned away by the Blacks and the Indian Seminoles. For the next 20 years, Black Seminoles served as militiamen. Soon thereafter, the Indians returned to Oklahoma but the Black Seminoles stayed back in Mexico fighting constantly to protect their settlements. They were constantly threatened but with the aid of arms and reinforcements from the Mexican Army, they were able to defend themselves. With the end of slavery in the US, these maroons came to be known as Seminoles Freedmen. Works Cited Dru J. Murray, Unconquered Seminoles, URL: accessed 21 Nov 2005 Joseph A Opala, The Gullah, URL: < http://www.yale.edu/glc/gullah/07.htm> accessed 21 Nov 2005 Pam Davis, Black Seminoles, URL:< http://www.csusm.edu/Black_Excellence/documents/pg-b-seminoles.html> accessed 21 Nov 2005 URL: accessed 21 Nov 2005 Read More